Direction indicator



Nov. 3, 1925,. 1,559,627'

R. B. LAMBERT DIRECTION A INDICATOR Filed oct. s, 1923 42 sheets-sheet 1 I i mum im l ,t

2757A?. f I

' R. B. LAMBERT DIRECTION INDICATOR Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

UNITED 'STATES PATENT l`oFFicif..

Roisnn'r'is. LAMBERT, or NAPA, oALiFonniA.

ninnc'rion innioa'roa.

aiipiication fue@ october given and maintained until the contem" plated action' has been completedand the indicator returned to normal posittion.

The primary object of myA invention is to provide an improved indicator for signaling a turn or stop.

Another object is to provide an improved device which will at all times operate as a warning signal and which may be manually operated to give a positive indication as to a contemplated turn or stop whereby confusion and misunderstanding' may be avoided.

A further Objectis to provide an-ziin-l Vproved device ofA the character describedwlierein a positive connection is provided between a rotatable pointer and actuating means therefor to insure a correct position' ing of the pointer forv any movement of the actuating means. .v

Another` object is to provide a Vdevice which will automatically illuminate a stop signal when the direction indicating'pointer is moved to a stop position.

A further object is to provide an improved device which canvbe conveniently' operated by the driver of the automobile to signal a contemplated action. t

A still further object is 'to provide a'device of simple and rugged Aconst ruction which will present aneat and attractive ap? pearance and which will perform the comvvbined functions of tail light, stop'signal,

and direction indicator.I f

"I accomplish these andfother 1objects byl means of the device disclosed inthe drawings forming a part of the present specificai tion wherein like characters'of reference are used to designate similar partsthroughout said specification and' drawings and in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the' chassis of an automobile showing the application, of

my improved 'direction indicator thereto.

Fiff. 2 is af brokenv rear elevation of Aan 'automobile eguipped" with my device. Y

semaine. 666,355.

Fig.y 3 a vertical section through the indicator, with the pointer vmoved tothe4 stop position.

Fig. l is a rear elevation ofthe indicator as shown inFig. 3, and includingy a Av cony ventional wiring diagramshowingV one manner in which the electrical connectionsmay be arranged. f

i Fig. wisa transverse section ,through the steering post, showing actuating llever thereto.` f. l v

Fig. v6 is a broken sectional detail showing the manner in which the actuating lever is held in ay desiredposition.V t

Fig. 7 is a broken side elevation vof the the relation ofthe steering post showing the actuating shaft j and the mannerl in which the actuating shaft is connected to drive the'mainshaft to the indicator. y i

Referring to the drawings the numeral l isv used to Vdesignate `in general ,a pointer mounted for rotative movementeupon the rear of anautomobile indicated in general by the numeral 2. Thepoiiiter is secured upon the end'of a mai-n'- shaft 3 from the rear of the automobileltoa point adjacent the steeringpost of the automobile-` The main shaft 3 maybe made as a solidjcontinuous shaft, or it may be provided with one or more universal joints as maybe found necessary to meetthe requirements Vof any particularconstruction of chassis, the shaft being arranged to follow along the frame v under the bodyof the vautomobileinfrany convenient manner.

The end of the shaft bearing 7 secured upon a bracket 8 mounted 3- is carried a l in any convenient manneruponzthe end of the frame or body 'ofthe automobile, the pointer l being arranged to: rotate adjacent the rearward side'v'of'the bracket. i The forward'end ofthe main shaft Sis provided with a pinion 9 meshing with la gear 11 secured upon thelowervend of an ioo actuating shaftv l2 mounted adjacent the steering post 4. The upper portion of the actuating shaft is preferably arranged par allel to the steering post and is'carried in bearings 13 clamped to said post. The lower'portiongof the shaft 18 is arranged' at an angle to the shaft adapted to obtain .a correct relation between the gear 11 andthe pinion 9, said lower portionpf 'the shaft kbeing connected to the upperporti'onby The' means of a'suitable `universaljoint. ends of the .allaite and' 12 are. preferaby engaged by common bearing member 14 secured upon the trame of the machine and arranged to maintain the gear and pinion in permanent meshing relation.

The upper end of the shaft 12 is squared to receive an actuating lever 16 by which the shafts 12 and 3 may be manually rotated to turn the pointer 1 to a desired position.` vA tan shaped plate 17 is mounted adjacent the lever '16 and provided with notches 18 adapted to be engaged by a spring latch 19 carried byV the actuating leverwhereby said lever may be secured in a desired position. rlhe notches 18 are arranged at measured intervals and marked to indicate the position occupied by the pointer when. the actuating lever is engagedby each notch. In Figs. 5 and 6 kI have illustrated one form of the plate and lever wherein the lspring latch, together with the end of the lever, extends outwardly pastl the edge ot the plate 17 whereby the spring and lever may b-e conveniently gripped and moved to engage a desired notch. The notches 18 are preferably marked Leith Forwarch I"Rightf and Stopf to indicate a contemplated action upon the part ot the driver.

rlhe positive and direct connection obtained between the' actuating lever 1G and the pointer'l by means ot the gear sbatte' abov-e described insures an accurate movev nient' of ther-pointer for each movement of.

the lever. VThe pointer is secured upou the end ot the shaft 3 in such a manner that will b-eturned until in a vertical when the actuating lever is in. engagement with the notch marked fForward the pointer will point directly up and will serve toiindicat'e that no change in course is contemplated. The remaining notches are spaced fromthe Forward notch 'in such amanner that when the lever is moved to the vnotch marked Left the pointer will be turned, to point directly to the lett and therebyindicate that a turn in that direction is' contemplated. ln similar manner a movement of the actuating lever 16 to the notch marked Bight will cause the pointerto assume a horizontal lposition pointing toward the right. f `When the lever is moved to the notch marked Stop the pointer position pointing directly down. The lever 16, and hence the pointer 1, is maintained in any. desired position by mea-ns of the spring latch 19 untilv moved manually to another posi-V tion. The pointer may thus `be set to a desired position and allowed to remain set until a contemplated action has been entirely complet-ed. In event van accident should occur' while a turn is being made, the position of the actuating lever will positivelyv indicate whether or not the proper signal has been made and` in this manner assist in determining which party 'is at d fault The pointer 1 is preferablyk made in the shape of an arrow clearly indicating the direction to which it is pointed. The outer side of the pointer is made of transparent red glass or other suitable material adapted to be illuminated by means ot an electric lighting element `21 mounted within the pointer. The lighting element is connected in any suitable manner to aV source ot electrical energy such as the storage battery of the automobile, and is preferably kept lighted at all times when the automobile is in use. The arrow, by being thusl illuminated will at all times stand out clearly as a brilliant red warning signal readily seen either in the day time or at night, and will thus serve as the tail light requiredto be carried by all vehicles.

In order to etfectually signal an` intenion .of stopping, and to avoid any possible confusion between the forward and stop positions ot the pointer 1, lpprovide an auxilliary stop signal 22 secured upon the bracket 8 immediately below the pointer. The signal 22 consists of a suitable housing the outer tace ot which is mad-e of red glass or other suitable material bearingthe word Stop formed inyletters capable of being read at a considerable distance. A lighting clement 23 is mounted within the housing by means of a suit-able socket 24 secured within the upper portion 'of the housing,V ysaid* hgh-ting element being adapted to illuminate the signal, the signal appearing as a bright red disc carrying the word Jrtltop when the light is on.

The lighting element 23 within the stop signal is arranged tobeilluniinated only when the pointer 1 is moved to the Stop position as above described. This is accomplished by connecting one terminal ot the light to a Contact Y26 secured upon the upper portion ot the housing and insulated theiiefrom. A corresponding contactk 27 is secured upon the point of the pointer 1 and insulated from the body thereot1 in any suitable manner. The contact is connected to the electric connections between the lighting element21 of the pointer and' the source of energy. The contacts 26and 27 are so positioned that whenv the pointerv is moved to the stop position with the point directed` downwardly the contact '26 will be engaged by the contact 27 andan electric circuit completed therethrough to the lighting element 23.

In Fig. et of the drawings I have shown a conventional wiring diagram showing the manner in which the lighting elements may be conveniently connected in what is termed a one wire system, wherein one terminal of a battery 3,1 is grounded while the opposite terminal is connected toy one terminal of the lighting element 21 through, a suitable connection 32, the other terminal of said lighttitl ing element being grounded. .A connection 33 is connected between the connection 32 and the Contact 27. The lighting element 23 has one terminal connected to the contact 26 while the other terminalis grounded. Thus when the contacts 26 and 27 are moved into contacting relation as shown in the drawings the circuit from the battery will fiow through the connections 32 and 33 to the lighting element 23 and thence back to ground. Uien the pointer is moved out ofthe stop position to any of its other operative positions as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4l, the contact 27 will be moved entirely away from the contact 26 so that no electrical connection will be made between the contact 26 and the battery.

From the above description it will be seen that my invention providesa positive warning signal which will be clearly visible to the drivers of approaching vehicles and which may be conveniently and positively moved to a desired position to give a de-l sired signal. In addition, a positive and unmistakable signal is given to indicate a contemplated stop. Furthermore, the positive driving connections and actuating elements are so arranged as to insure a positive and accurate operation of the indicator accomplished with very little effort and without removing the hands from the steering wheel.

VS/Ihile I have shown and described what I l now consider to be the preferred form of my invention, it is of course subject to modification in numerous ways to meet the requirements of diferent makes and typesl of automobiles and to conform to the laws of different localities. I therefore do not wish tc restrict myself to the specific disclosure herein contained but desire to avail myself of all such modications as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

l. A direction indicator comprising a bracket mounted upon the back of an automobile; a pointer rotatably `for automobiles mounted upon the upper portion of the signal; an electric contact mounted upon the top of the stop signal and connected to the lighting element therein; and a contact mounted upon the end ofV the pointer andelectrically connected withV a source of electrical energy, said contact beingarranged to engage the contact upon the stop` signalv when the pointer is moved lto the stop position and thereby complete a circuitthrough the lighting elementV to illuminate they stop signal.

2. A directionv indicato-r for automobiles comprising a bracket mounted upon the back of an automobile; a pointer rotatably mounted upon the upper portion of the bracket7 said pointer consisting of an arrow shaped housing having an arrow 'shaped window facing rearwardly from the automobile; means for moving the pointer to any of a plurality of direction indicating positions whereby the arrow will indicate the contemplated action of a driver; electrical means mounted within the housing for illuminating the window; a stopv signal mounted upon the bracket immediately be-V low the pointer; anelectric lighting element mounted within lthe stop signal; an

electric Contact mounted upon the top of the stop signal and connected to the lighting element therein; and a contact mounted upon the end of the pointer and electrically connected with a source of electrical energy; said .Contact being arranged to engage the contact u on the sto-p signal and complete a circuit t rough the lighting element of said stop signal only when the pointer is moved to a stop indicating position.

nature. f

ROBERT B. LAMBERT.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my sig- 

